Palazzo Sforza-Cesarini, now the Civitanova Marche municipal hall, was built, as the plaque on its staircase indicates, by Duke Lorenzo Sforza, between February and December 1862. The building, with its imposing late-Neoclassical style, was built with brickwork and decorated with sculpted Renaissance motifs, including terracotta cornucopias, masks and capitals. The east side of the building was attached to the Port Fortress, built in the 15th century to protect the coast and the inhabitants of the small fishing village from incursions by pirates. The palace and the fortress complex was bought in 1906 by the Cingoli family, who enlarged it and converted part of it into a private residence and the remaining part into a pasta factory.  After the First World War the palace became the city hall for the new independent municipality of Portocivitanova. The only modification made to the facade was the installation of the clock, which is still in working order. The historic “Annibal Caro” café, known as “Maretto”, was opened in the arcade and is still there today. The west wing of the complex was used as a school and a warehouse for salt and tobacco. With the reunification of the upper town with the port in 1938, it became the official headquarters of the Civitanova Marche municipality. The north part of the complex was demolished in the 1930s and replaced with the “Beniamino Gigli” cinema and theatre, which changed its name to “Gioacchino Rossini” after the Second World War. Further restoration work was done on the municipal offices and reception areas in 1999.